]]>http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2018/02/22/new-videos-from-wawayanda-and-cherry-tree-10-miler/feed/0Ragnar ADK 2017 – WE DID IT!http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/09/29/ragnar-adk-2017-we-did-it/
http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/09/29/ragnar-adk-2017-we-did-it/#respondFri, 29 Sep 2017 05:01:24 +0000http://strongheartsveganpower.org/?p=758Five years. That’s a long time, but it feels like yesterday that we took a measly twelve runners from Saratoga Springs to Lake Placid, NY. This year, our fifth consecutive year of competing in Reebok Ragnar Relay Adirondacks, we took four teams of twelve runners (plus van drivers!) across the state. Some were veterans, some brand new to our zany antics and animal advocacy. WE HAD A BLAST, and this year was super special because all four teams raced so near each other. We got to see other teams and vans throughout the race, sharing laughs, photos, Snaps, and all the fun experiences that come with this 200-mile race.

This year, instead of alphabetical teams (A, B, C…) with “A Team” being our fast runners, we simply divided our squad into four teams, each named for a rescued animal at our beneficiary, Tamerlaine Farm Sanctuary. All four teams placed really well; preliminary results place us high out of the 200+ scored teams:

Team Bubblegum: 34th
Team Leo: 38th
Team Teddy: 42nd
Team Ferdinand: 59th

As the race ended, we presented our usual “team spirit” and MVP awards, awarding some new and old runners with a prize they will cherish for a long time. Finishing early gave all the team some time to catch up and enjoy each other’s company before we headed back to Albany, and to Tamerlaine on Sunday.

Lastly, as of this post, we’ve raised nearly $4,000 for Tamerlaine Farm Sanctuary – our permanent beneficiary from here on out, and were thrilled to watch them grow alongside us. They do good work: truly saving the lives and working to educate the public to the horrors of factory farming. You can still donate via our Classy page if you would like to support the farm!

A big thank you to our sponsors for this race, most notably Strong Hearts Cafe – our namesake and title sponsor! We also received funding from Vegan Outdoor Adventures and Little Anthony’s, two groups we love! Our in-kind donations came from Shower Pouch, Follow Your Heart, Pretzilla, Tofurky, Vegan Rob’s, and R.e.d.d bars.

We have a number of runners doing local and regional races this fall, from 5k to marathons and more. Many of us will be at FlocktoberFest in two weeks to help raise additional funds for Tamerlaine. See you there!

]]>http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/09/29/ragnar-adk-2017-we-did-it/feed/0Ragnar PA 2017 Race Reports and more!http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/08/14/ragnar-pa-2017-race-reports-and-more/
http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/08/14/ragnar-pa-2017-race-reports-and-more/#respondMon, 14 Aug 2017 18:22:52 +0000http://strongheartsveganpower.org/?p=694It’s been a couple months, but we’re nonetheless thrilled to report we took a whopping five teams to the Poconos for another incredible Reebok Ragnar Relay series! Below are our placings, pictures, and race reports from various team members:

A post shared by Strong Hearts Vegan Power (@strongheartsveganpower) on Jun 2, 2017 at 11:57am PDT

And lastly, some incredible photographs from A team runner Adrian Centoni!

]]>http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/08/14/ragnar-pa-2017-race-reports-and-more/feed/0May 2017 Team Highlightshttp://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/06/30/may-2017-team-highlights/
http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/06/30/may-2017-team-highlights/#respondFri, 30 Jun 2017 15:32:37 +0000http://strongheartsveganpower.org/?p=659Race season is in full swing, and our strong-hearted runners spent the month of May crushing courses, earning PRs, and logging those final training miles for Ragnar PA. Spoiler: vegan donuts may have also been involved.

Lia Belardo (top left and top center) ran the Philly Broad Street Run 10-miler. She also finished the Hammonton Sprint Tri, coming in first place in the Athena category.

Kathleen Pace Froio (left, left) finished the Mountain Goat Run 10-Miler, but not without a little help from teammate Laura Kline (left, right) who was on course at mile 9 with the ultimate in race fuel: vegan donuts.

Liz Garrett (center left) earned second place female and first in her division at the Denali Rock the Gauntlet 5K Obstacle Race. The race featured steep uphill trails, hurdles, ladders, and a mud crawl. Liz finished the course in 27:17.

Marie Gryszowka (center right) joined her mom the Rock the Ridge 50-miler in New Paltz, NY. Marie finished in 13:47:34.

Peter Guarino (right) also ran the Mountain Goat Run 10-Miler, finishing in 1:39.

Samantha LeBlanc (bottom center and bottom right with Lili) ran the Tarc Wapack & Back 21.5-mile race, conquering 4,872 feet of gain to come in first place female and 10th overall. She also joined her four-legged running partner Lili for Lili’s first 5k race, the Pineland Farms Trail Challenge Canicross 5k. The pair finished in 21:59, coming in 9th out of 126 female runners and 28th out of 209 total runners. Read her Wapack race recap here.

]]>http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/06/30/may-2017-team-highlights/feed/0April 2017 Team Highlightshttp://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/05/10/april-2017-team-highlights/
http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/05/10/april-2017-team-highlights/#respondWed, 10 May 2017 20:20:59 +0000http://strongheartsveganpower.org/?p=567Our ragtag band of vegans had a busy April, logging lots of miles and posting a bunch of impressive PRs. Looks like some good training in there for Ragnar Pennsylvania, which is now only a few short weeks away!

Lia Belardo (top left, right) ran the Run for Clean Air 10k. She also ventured west with teammate Heather to complete the Big Sur Marathon.

Adrian Centoni (top right) finished 7th place overall at the Wenatchee Marathon, earning himself a speedy new PR of 3:11:19.

Clifford Dean (bottom left) not only ran but cycled as well to compete in the Flower City Duathlon.

Corey Evatt (bottom right), a newbie to the team who will be joining us for the first time in PA in June, tackled the aptly-named Georgia Death Race. He finished the grueling course, consisting of over 70 miles with 17k feet of elevation gain, in 20:36:38. Be sure to check out his race recap here.

Kathleen Pace Froio (medal pictured left) braved the heat to finish the Skunk Cabbage Classic Half Marathon. Per usual, she showed up repping veganism and received more than 20 positive comments along the course!

Molly Glenn (center left) finished the Flower City Half Marathon.

Brian Hahn (center right) also ran the Flower City Half Marathon, finishing with a PR of 1:45:03.

Erin Jaskiewicz (feet and medal pictured right) completed her first race of the season, the Run for Clean Air 10K in Philadelphia.

Laura Kline (top left) ran the 121st Boston Marathon, battling the heat to finish with an impressive time of 3:03.24! Read her race report here.

Shawna Laemlein (top center) also came out for the Flower City Half Marathon, earning herself a PR!

Samantha LeBlanc (bottom, right) arrived at the finish line of the Boston Marathon at 5am on marathon Monday to guide blind runner Kyle Robidoux backwards along the course to its start, helping him to complete the first half of his “Boston Double” in 4:25.

Rachel McCrystal (pictured on her medal top right, right; the fuzzy foreground image is a vegan donut FYI) ran the Run for Clean Air 10k. Rachel was also recently appointed Executive Director of Woodstock Farm Sanctuary. Yay!

As it turned out, the Run for Clean Air 10k in Philly was quite the family affair! In addition to Lia, Erin, and Rachel, we had the following SHVPers show up to run the course: (left to right) Matt Vietri, Kate McGuire, Jane Morley, Jeannine Osuna, Lia (hi again, Lia!), and Suzanne McKenna.

Ellie Pell (left) joined her teammates for the Flower City Half Marathon. Read her race write-up here.

Scott Spitz (right) placed 3rd in the Carmel Marathon, finishing with an incredible time of 2:40:11, a 6:07 average pace! As if that weren’t impressive enough on it’s own, this was Scott’s first official marathon post-cancer diagnosis. Truly inspiring.

Mike Welden (center & right) ran the Breakneck Point Trail Marathon, which consisted 29 miles with 10k feet of vertical gain. He finished in 10th place with a time of 5:54. He also won the John Polo Annual 5k!

Aaron Zellhoefer (left) joined Laura at the Boston Marathon, pushing through the heat and sun to finish with a smile on his face and an excellent time of 3:13.

Great work and congrats to all our teammates. Keep crushing those miles–you’re going to have 200 of them to cover in June!

]]>http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/05/10/april-2017-team-highlights/feed/0March 2017 Team Highlightshttp://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/04/20/march-2017-team-highlights/
http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/04/20/march-2017-team-highlights/#respondThu, 20 Apr 2017 20:20:52 +0000http://strongheartsveganpower.org/?p=512Race season is getting underway and things finally are starting to pick up again for our compassionate crew. Here’s what our teammates got up to in March.

Joe Burns (top left) ran the Sam Costa Half Marathon, finishing first in his age group with an excellent time of 1:34:14.

Alan Dumond (medal bottom left) came in first overall to win the Fontandango 50-miler.

Liz Garrett (left) braved the cold to join her No Meat Athlete crew for the ShamRock and Roll 5k.

Molly Glenn (center left) doubled down on the 13.1 last month, running both the NYC Half and joining her SHVP teammates just a week later for the Syracuse Half (pictured below)!

Laura Kline (center right) came in 1st female at the Naked Bavarian 20-miler!

Samantha LeBlanc (right) ran the TARC To Hale & Back 6-hour trail race. She completed 28 miles in under 6-hours in the snow, rain, and mud, finishing 2nd female. Read her race recap here.

A sort of annual tradition, a bunch of our teammates came out to represent SHVP in the Syracuse Half Marathon–and about as many came out to offer support! Fortunately for our runners, this year’s event did not include the customary blizzard of years past.

Jason Mintz (left) finished the Syracuse Half in 15th place overall with a blazing time of 1:17:17. Read his race report here.

Ellie Pell (right, left) placed 2nd female in the race, finishing with an impressive time of 1:23:00. Check out her race report for the details.

Mike Welden (right, right) finished in 1:22:27, coming in 41st overall out of more than 4600 runners.

It’s been great to see everyone getting back out there. Keep it up, team!

]]>http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/04/20/march-2017-team-highlights/feed/0February 2017 Team Highlightshttp://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/03/09/february-2017-team-highlights/
http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/03/09/february-2017-team-highlights/#respondThu, 09 Mar 2017 19:29:39 +0000http://strongheartsveganpower.org/?p=370Our strong-hearted vegan crew braved the snow and wind last month to take down some serious miles and earn some PRs. There also may have been some shorts-clad frolicking, because 60-degree days in February are now a thing. Thanks, climate change.

Liz Garrett (right), a new SHVPer and speedy A-Teamer-to-be who will be joining us for the first time in PA, ran the Iris Run for Refugees 5k. She showed up to represent plant-fueled athleticism with her No Meat Athlete team, finishing the race in 22:07.

Marie Gryszowka (center) ran the Martha’s Vineyard 20 Miler. She pushed back against some super strong headwinds to finish with a time of 3:36:24.

Kathleen Paice Froio (top, right) & Johnny Hero (top, left) ran the Lake Effect Half Marathon. In addition to pacing Kate, Johnny also serenaded her along the way, distracting from the sustained 20 MPH winds (not including gusts!). Proceeds from this race were in benefit of Ophelia’s Place, an organization dedicated to helping people overcome eating disorders.

Aaron Zellhoefer (bottom left), after missing the registration for an indoor 1-mile race, decided to race it anyway—on his own, on the same date, on a treadmill. At 1% incline, Aaron earned himself a mile PR, finishing with a blazing time of 4:57.

Great work everyone!

And in case you missed it, make sure to check out the title sponsor for our next big team event, Ragnar Pennsylvania in June: The Herbivorous Butcher! Show them (and yourself! and the animals!) some love and visit the shop or order some of their delicious meat-free meats and cheese-free cheeses. Also, our race roster and the donation info for our race beneficiary, Tamerlaine Farm Sanctuary, is up. If you’re able, please make a donation to support the important work that Tamerlaine is doing–the animals will thank you!

]]>http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/03/09/february-2017-team-highlights/feed/0Our Next Ragnar Run & Beneficiary!http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/02/20/our-next-ragnar-run-beneficiary/
http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/02/20/our-next-ragnar-run-beneficiary/#commentsMon, 20 Feb 2017 20:35:27 +0000http://strongheartsveganpower.org/?p=324We’re very excited to announce our next Ragnar Relay: Ragnar Pennsylvania in the Poconos on June 2, 2017! We’re even more excited that for the first time ever, we have a massive FIVE teams entering the race; that’s 60 powerhouse vegans on the road! Each team will cover about 200 miles on foot, spread out over about 24 hours and 12 runners,. It’s an epic feat, and we do it for the animals. In fact, we’ve already started raising money for this race’s beneficiary: Tamerlaine Farm Animal Sanctuary.

Tamerlaine Farm Sanctuary is a haven for abused, neglected and abandoned farmed animals in Northern New Jersey. They are open to the public 5 days a week and teach humane education on their tours. It is their goal to introduce people to the animals that are usually only seen as part of the food production industry. They believe that if people experience these animals face to face they will see that each one has an individual and unique personality. They are a 501(c)3 non-profit.

We’re using the Classy platform, a new online site for non-profit groups to raise money for causes they care about. In our case, that’s the animals! You can visit our donate page to select a team or runner of your choice, or simply click a dollar amount below to be taken to the donate page! Either way, we, Tamerlaine Farm Sanctuary, and the animals appreciate it!

]]>http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/02/20/our-next-ragnar-run-beneficiary/feed/2January 2017 Team Highlightshttp://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/02/15/january-2017-team-highlights/
http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/02/15/january-2017-team-highlights/#respondWed, 15 Feb 2017 20:01:08 +0000http://strongheartsveganpower.org/?p=315January was another light month for our runners race-wise (hello off-season!), but a few of our teammates still made a point of getting out there and logging some bib-clad miles. Here’s what our crew got up to last month:

Corey Evatt (bottom left), a brand-new-to-our-crew runner who will be joining us for the first time in PA, ran the Cloudland Canyon 50M. The race was actually shortened to a 50k due to weather delays, but hey an ultra’s an ultra, amiright?!

Marie Gryszowka (bib and medal at top left) started the new year off on the right foot, heading out on Jan. 1 to run the icy—and thus aptly-named—Central Mass Striders Freezer 5-miler.

Erin Jaskiewicz (right) completed the Disney World Dopey Challenge, which consists of four consecutive days of races, starting with a 5k, then a 10k, a half marathon, and finishing with a full marathon. Erin’s half was actually cancelled due to weather concerns, but she got out there that day and logged that 13.1 on her own anyway! You can read her race recap (along with vegan food highlights) here.

Samantha LeBlanc (left with her running partner Lili) participated in the “Winter Warrior Challenge,” running or walking at least 3 miles outside every day in January. Even after taking a two-week coach-mandated break from running, she finished out the month with 185 miles under her feet. The fact that she picked up an adorable new walking/running buddy last month probably didn’t hurt.

Trish Novelli (center) had a busy month of weekly track meets with her college team. She participated in the Rutgers Invitational 1 mile, finishing in 6:36; ran the 3000 meters at the Yale Collegiate Invitational in 13:17; ran a 6:41 mile and 12:55 3k at the Greater Boston Invite; and completed both events once more at the Massasoit Classic, finishing the 1 mile in 6:36 and the 3000 meters with a time of 13:00.

Brian Hahn, Paul Phillips, Jon Hero and Shawna Laemlein (right) all took on 13.1 miles of bitter cold at the Winter Warrior Half Marathon in Rochester, NY. Way to represent!

Congrats and great work to all our teammates on getting out there and finishing those races and logging those training miles. Can’t wait to see and share what’s to come throughout the rest of 2107!

]]>http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/02/15/january-2017-team-highlights/feed/0December 2016 Team Highlightshttp://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/01/10/december-2016-team-highlights/
http://strongheartsveganpower.org/2017/01/10/december-2016-team-highlights/#respondTue, 10 Jan 2017 17:02:21 +0000http://strongheartsveganpower.org/?p=303Happy New Year! Now that we’re through the chaos of the holidays and fully embarking on 2017, let’s take a glance back at how our teammates closed out last year and chat a little about what our team has on the agenda for the coming months.

December was a lighter month overall for our plant-powered team, though it tends to be in the running community—off-season and all. The kickass women of SHVP ain’t got no time for that, though. Off-season schmoff-season, amiright ladies?

Carrie Hineline (top left) ran the Caroler 5k in Orchard Park, NY.

Laura Kline (bottom) took on The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Mile Championship. She finished 11th female with a time of 7:47:53. Check out her race report here.

Samantha LeBlanc (top right) completed the TARC Fells Winter Ultra 40-Miler, the farthest distance she’s ever run. She finished the challenging course in 8:01:56 as 4th female—and the 5th female ever to finish the race since it started 5 years ago. Read her race report here.

I, Britt LoSacco (top), ran the Jingle Bell Jog 4-Miler, finishing in 32:40. I also completed the Ted Corbitt 15k, walking the whole race due to a strained tendon but determined to finish so I could complete my 9+1 for guaranteed entry into next year’s NYC Marathon.

Trish Novelli (bottom right) participated in her first ever indoor track meet at West Point Military Academy. She ran the 1 mile in 6:32—a PR of 11 seconds!—and also competed in the 3k, finishing with a time of 13:21.

Ellie Pell (bottom left) also ran The North Face Endurance Challege. It was her first 50-mile race and she finished with a time of 7:59:57, coming in 15th female. Read her race recap for all the details.

Continuing in the spirit of awesome lady runners, check out this great article that Laura Kline wrote for Topo Athletic on women in ultrarunning. Personal interjection: As a woman who had a planned homebirth, which included riding out 16 hours of natural labor (17 if you include the hour of pushing), the notion of a woman’s innate ability to “suffer long and suffer hard” really resonated with me. Whether or not we choose to reproduce, every woman has this strength deep within. Laura totally kaled it with this piece!

And since vegan activism is at the heart of why we all come together to do what we do, definitely take a second to read this letter to the editor written by our team co-founder Joel Capolongo in response to a piece about an upstate NY dairy farmer who enjoys trolling vegans and blaming them for her industry’s decline. Spoiler alert: It’s not us, dairy lady, it’s you.

Last but not least, here’s what we’ve got coming up in 2017! The Strong Hearts Vegan Power crew will be back out in full force for two more Ragnar Series Relay events, throwing down for the first time at Pennsylvania in June and returning to the Adirondacks come September. In the meantime, we’ll keep on sharing all the awesome things our teammates are up to here, on Facebook, Twitter, and on Instagram. And if you think you might want to pound some pavement for the animals, inquire about joining the team at runwithus@strongheartsveganpower.org.